Adjustable rolling screen



l Oct. 2l,4 1930. G. M. sAcERDoTE ADJUSTABLE ROLLING SCREEN Filed Dec. 2, 1925 Patented Oct. 21, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oFF-ICE GUIDO M. 'sAcEBDOTn or BAYSIDE, NEW Yonx, AssIGNoR To BELKNAP. MCLAUGHLIN,

f or rLUsHING, NEwYomz f ADJUSTABLE ROLLING'SCREEN Application mea December 2, 1925. yserial No. 72,751.

screens or shades, adapted lto be adjusted ing also adjustable within the limits of small variations which may occur in window frames of the stock size for which the screen or shade is intended.

A further object is to provide, Vin connection with a rolling yscreen or shade,a frame which may be adjusted within the limits of small variations which may occur in the width of window frames of thestock size for whichthe screen is intended, said frame befor similar variations in the sense of the height of said window frame.

sary that the frame Additional objects and advantages ofthe presentinvention will more fully appear 'as the description proceeds, and will be yset forth and claimed in the appended claims. y

Rolling screens are generally composed'of a frame, comprising a top or bottom casing within which the screen roller is enclosed, and twow side rails which act as guides for the edges of the screen, connected to said casing and secured'to ythe inner surface of the window frameto which the screenis applied, by

ymeans of screws or in any otherV suitableY manner.

For the device to bevefl'ective, it is necesy be exactly of the same size' as the opening `in the windowy frame, because the necessity of producing a neat appearance bars the possibility of using pack- Vings or fillings in the clearance whichmay result if the screen frame is smallerthanthe window frame; and ifv the screenf frame is larger, then of course it cannot be inserted in position. I Y l Y On the other hand, rr window frames are' never exactly of the same size, and slight variationsboth in width and in height can always be expectedbetween window Aframes downwardly),

of the same stock size. As a consequence, this -entails lthe necessityr of fittingy the screen frames in place one by one, a rather expensive process which requires first the'taking of ac'- curate measurements, then the building of .each screen,'and then the individual fitting by experienced men.

The fact that screens must often be placed at. points distant from the source of production,coupled with the said necessity of giving individual care Vto each screen, absolutely precludes quantity production and distribution, considerably limiting the possibilitiesk of application of such devices, also because the resulting cost is ,necessarily high.

Some attempts have been made to overcome this difliculty, by the production of col,- lapsibleframes, in which the roller casing or' top rail (or bottom casingif, the screen is arranged to extend' upwardly instead of is composed of two telescopic members; but the appearance ofthe resulting device is not all that it should be, andV furthermore .the possibility lof adjustment frame, but must perforce also extend tothe roller and the cannot be limited to the operating, mechanism.l 'Also, the 'frame should be adjustable in 'theA sense of its height, if a good fitting and aV good appearance have to be obtained. i Y Y The problem is somewhat complicated by the fact that the free end of the screen is n v generally providedwith a cross member or bottom rail, with which are associatedmeans vfor, maintainlng said bottom` rail horizontal throughout'its travel, to insure theexertpion lof an'evenly distributed and'uniform tension for the entire wdthof the screen. This is necessary in order topreve,nt distortionsforL vdeformations in the structure ofthe screen The fabric, which is generally produced byopen l weaving of fine gauge metallicwires.

bottom rail and other parts mentionedgnust j rof V'courseals'o be capable'off'following the adjustments of the frame one way or the other, without interfering "with the proper operation and eiectiveness of the device,"

The present construction of adjustable frame, whereby any small variation inthe widthor height i invention comprises a special Y i of the window fran'ie can be readily taken up, without sacrificing the synnnetrical appearance of the device, or its effectiveness.

Fig. l is a fragmentary front view in elevation, partlj7 sectioned, of the upper part of the frame;

Fig. 2 is a sectional side view in elevation of the same through line 2-2 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 3 is a similar view illustrating the frame adjusted for a slight increase in the height of the window frame; and

F ig. 4 is a detail plan sectional view of the same through line 4--1 of Fig. 5.

The screen frame forming the subject of this invention comprises, a roller casing or top rail l2, the length of which is not over the minimum allowable distance between the inner faces 72, 73, of the side rails 22, 23, the said side rails, and two corner members 74, connecting each side rail to the top rail, so as to allow relative horizontal ,and vertical adjustment.

The -side rails are in the form of a longitudinal casing of a section suitable to receive and conceal the chains and sprockets, and such other parts of the mechanism as the device may include; for instance, clamping means for the edges of the screen, such as described in another patent for rolling screens, allowed to me July 7, 1925. Serial #1,545,282, or such as described in another application for patent on clamping mechanism for rolling screens, filed simultaneously herewith. Said casing is formed with an inner longitudinal slot 7G, through which are inserted and run one of the edges of the screen, and the corresponding end of the bottom rail.

The upper end of each side rail is formed with a part of its inner side cut ofi?, and a part of its front side 7?' unfolded or unbent as shown at 78, to remain flu-sh with he upper portion of the outer side 7S). The front end of the resulting extension 7S is cut olil as at 80, or bent so that its edge or front surface is parallel to the rear side 8l of the rail.

The said upper end, is inserted from the side through a slot 82, cut at the bottom and at the outer end of its corresponding corner member, the rear surface of said upper end of the siderail, and the front edge of extension 78, registering with the inner' ear and front surfaces of said corner member, designated by numerals 83, 84, respectivelj. Slot 82 is deep enough to cause the outer surface of the side rail to remain flush with the end surface of the corner member, when in serted within said slot; and the rear surface of said upper end of the side rail, and the front edge or surface of extension 78, together with the front and rear surfaces of the side rail proper, will form a sliding or telescoping connection of sai d side rail with the corner member, allowing relative longitudinal adjustment of the said two part-s.

The amount of adjustment thus made possible, is limited by the inner outline of the corner member, which is elongated from top to bottom enough to allow a certain play to. the roller, which will of course be coaxial with hole S5, punched through the outer upper surface of the side rail, to receive the riveting end of stud 2G; The lower front surface of said corner member is preferably rounded for the sake of appearance, and the quasi-rectangular vertical section of said corner member thus obtained will register and telescope within the top rail, which is made with a corresponding outline, as Figs. 6, 7, clearly show. The top rail is preferably composed of a front part l2 ancL a rear part 12, thus permitting an easy removal of the front part, for inspection purposes.

In this manner, a certain amount of relative adjustment between the topA rail and the corner members, lengthwise of the top rail, that is, in the sense of the width of the frame, is made pcssible, so that the frame may be extended or contracted laterally to lit the width of the window frame; and after securing the top rail in position., by placing it with its upper surface against the upper surface of the window frame, and retaining' it in said position by means ofthe corner members, which are screwed in place in any suitable manner, the side rails can be extended downwardly to the point where their lower end reaches the window sill, the roller and screen moving together with the side rails. The side rails then secured te the sides of the window frame in any suitable manner.

The tcp rail may easily be set centrally of the r fruiting frame, by gauging or measuring the distance between the ends of the top rail and the inner surfaces of the side rails. Thus the frame will have a. symmetric appearance, quite as neat as if the top rail were made in one piece extending all the way from one side to the other of the window frame.

The resulting construction clearly achieves the ends sought, without interfering with the appearance or the' effectiveness of the device. 'lhe various parts of which the device .is composed may therefore be produced by mass production methods, with the assur- .ance that the saine will lit any window of the size for which the device is intended, without the necessity of taking measurements, and without the necessity of employing es.A pertlabor for the setting up of the screen.

The arrangement described is new in screens adjustable in the sense ef width and has the advantage of permitting lthe eniployment of a roller of uniform diameter and of a single width of screen.

Rolling screens adjustable in the sense of their width in order to fit different widths of window frames have been made and are old in the art; but the arrangement usually adopted includes a collapsible roller composed of two members telescoping into each other and two widths of screen overlapping at their inner edges; the arrangement obtained being therefore capable of adjustment between two relatively wide limits. The result is lack of uniformity in the diameter of the roller, lack of uniformity in the winding operation, and lack of uniformity in the general appearance of the screen, the section where the two edges' overlap appearing darker than the rest; furthermore,lack of continuity of the screen surface nullies outright the advantages which could otherwise be derived by clamping the edges of the screen in order to obtain a taut and uninterru ted surface.

n the other hand the arrangement described would not do for screens intended to be applied to window frames of different stock sizes; the idea being that an adjustable screen may be made for each stock size, capable of limited adjustment, to take care of such variations as may occur within reasonable limits, and such as actually occurring in practice.

The construction of frame illustrated, however, would lend itself equally well for use in connection with a collapsible roller and a two section screen in the sense of the width, if desired.

The drawings are mainly intended for illustrative purposes, and not in a limiting sense; since it is obvious that minor changes may be made in the construction of the device, without substantially departing from the inventive idea. Therefore, I reserve myself the right to carry my invention into practice in all those ways and manners which may enter, fairly, into the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a device of the class described, the combination with two longitudinal side members, of means integral therewith for supporting a roller therebetween, and a transversal member interlocking with said two side members, providing a housing for said roller, said transversal member being adjustable longitudinally of said side members, independently of said roller.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with two longitudinal side members, of means integral therewith for supporting a roller therebetween, and a transversal element comprising two end members interlocking with andA adjustable longitudinally of said side members independently of said roller, and a casing for said roller, interlocking with and transversely adjustable members.

GUIDO M. SACERDOTE.

in relation to said end*A 

